LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas' attorney general is urging consumers to be aware of the growing problem of tax identity theft as the 2014 tax season kicks off.

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said more than 140 employees of an Arkansas university were victims of tax identity theft last year. McDaniel said they had to work with the Internal Revenue Service and local authorities to obtain their rightful refunds and protect their identities.

The Federal Trade Commission said tax identity theft occurs when someone files a phony tax return using a consumer's personal information, such as a Social Security number, or uses the Social Security number to get a job or claim a consumer's child as a dependent on a return.

The IRS says it has identified more than 14 million suspicious tax returns since 2011.

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As a person who has been a victim of identity theft, I know first hand how difficult it is to get things straightened out. It costs money and time to get your identity back. Most times, the person is never caught. In my case the person(s) were not caught.

Unfortunately, even when the thief is a relative and a known criminal, it is virtually impossible to get any law enforcement entity to press charges. So, awareness is a fine thing, but also be aware that if it happens, there isn't much you can do to have the criminal prosecuted.